CaptiView: a raw deal for deaf cinema goers

The lastest innovation in cimema access for Australians who are deaf or hard of hearing is proving to be more of a nightmare than an access solution, writes Gary Kerridge.

Boxing Day is a movie extravaganza in Australia. Cinemas release all the new blockbuster movies hoping to entice people to the post Christmas showings. Boxing Day 2012 was no exception with Les Miserables and The Hobbit being promoted to the hilt. It should have been a virtual smorgasbord of choice for deaf and vision impaired cinema goers. You see since 2009, with the support of the Australian Government, Australia's Big 4 cinemas - Hoyts, Village, Reading and Events - have been taking part in the Accessible Cinema Roll Out. Closed captions for the deaf through a device known as CaptiView and audio description for the vision impaired are now, supposedly, available for a wide range of movies. Deaf and vision impaired cinema goers could now enjoy the Boxing Day Movie Blockbusters. Or could they?

Parliamentary Secretary for Disability, Senator Jan McLucas, would have us believe that the Accessible Cinema Roll Out is the bee's knees. In a media release from Christmas Eve, Senator McLucas expounds on the benefits of the Roll Out, declaring "Catching a movie is something that many of us don't think twice about but the fact is there are many Australians who haven't been able to enjoy this popular past time."

She also reminds us that "The Australian Government has invested $470,000 to help cinema chains with the rollout of accessible closed caption and audio description screens, improving cinema access for people who are visually or hearing impaired." Leaving us with no doubt that the roll out is a wonderful thing, Senator McLucas adds, "It is fantastic to see local deaf people here today enjoying the movies for the first time and able to get involved in the Aussie tradition for many of seeing a movie on Boxing Day."

As s deaf person I cannot speak for people who are vision impaired. However, as someone who has represented the Action on Cinema Access Committee at the Accessible Cinema Advisory Group I certainly can speak for many deaf colleagues who have complained about CaptiView. The Accessible Cinema Roll Out has been anything but a godsend. The technology used to deliver closed captions to the deaf is, to put it mildly, a dud!

For those who are unaware, the CaptiView device has a base which is placed in the seat cup-holder, connected to a flexible cord with a small screen at the other end. The screen displays the captions and is meant to be positioned in front of the deaf viewer's eyes. The problem is that the deaf viewer must constantly refocus from the big screen to the device. This requires intense concentration and multitasking. Many deaf viewers have complained that this multitasking is exhausting and canresult in severe headaches and eyestrain.

I have heard of other access problems that the device presents. People who are deaf who also wear glasses complain that adjusting focus to coordinate reading the captions while watching the movie requires them to constantly remove and replace their glasses. Some children who are deaf lack the concentration to be able to use the device effectively. People who are tall complain that to read the captions they must slump in their seat to get the device at eye level thus causing them great discomfort.

There are stories of the device failing to work at all. There are also stories of captions dropping out and of cinemas staff not knowing what CaptiView is. There are stories of patrons being refused the device because they lacked proper ID. I've heard of incidences of sessions being advertised as captioned but no captions were available. For many deaf viewers CaptiView has been nothing but a nightmare.

So Boxing Day was supposed to have been Utopia for cinema goers who are deaf. Supposedly, there were choices of movies galore. Feedback posted on the Action on Cinema Access page on Facebook demonstrates the actual reality. Some of the critical comments posted include: "my 6 year old was leaning so close to it to read and said it too small... ended up asking me so many questions"; "We had to give our IDs, made us carry them while we were juggling with toddler, popcorns drinks bags doll and blankie (sic), now the three of them DON'T work!!"; "They told that her preferred movie starts at 9.10pm in Geelong which has CC and the other film with CC is Wreckit Ralph starting at 9.30pm." Spoilt for choice? Who is kidding who? An accessible kids' movie at 9.30pm? Are they for real? And this was just the Christmas feedback. It makes a mockery of Senator McLucas's claims.

The Accessible Cinema Roll Out has arguably made cinema access worse. The CaptiView device is inaccessible for many and sometimes the advertising of caption sessions is either wrong or non-existent. Movies are still shown at off peak times. Choices are still limited. What is more, there are only six devices per screen meaning people who are deaf cannot go to the movies as a group of more than six people. There is no doubt that the Accessible Cinema Roll Out has failed the deaf.

Yet Senator McLucas claims of the Government, cinemas and the disability community that "As a collective, they have worked together to find a way to better meet consumer demand for access to cinemas..." This is an insult to all people who are deaf who have taken the time to provide her and our representatives with honest feedback.

Not good enough, Senator McLucas! Access must meet our needs!

Gary Kerridge is deaf and has been working in the disability sector for nearly a quarter of a century. He has worked across the sector in a variety of roles and is best known for his work as an advocate and his popular blog The Rebuttal, where a version of this article was first published.

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